– Linda Watson

In my life Act 1-5 went according to plans… 

Then Act 6 started 
I had a great husband, our adult children had good educations, jobs and great partners
Financially we were comfortable, retirement and time to travel was just around the corner
Then cancer entered, stage right and everything changed in a moment 

A routine mammogram, a call from the clinic… A lump…. I can’t feel a lump 

It can’t be cancer, I am healthy, I watch what I eat, I exercise, I don’t smoke 

Grim faced, my doctor tells me “You have cancer” 

Once you hear those words, you can never unhear them
They echoed in my ears, and in my thoughts especially in the quiet of the night
Filling my soul with fear 
How would this all play out? 

Finding hope was essential. There were treatments and lots of people survive cancer, so could I… 

Let’s get this done. What do I need to do?
You need surgery, a lumpectomy or a mastectomy
I think I want the whole thing gone, in fact I want them both gone. 
Who the hell needs breasts anyways? 

Be brave, pray, keep breathing, think positive, I have lots to live for… 

The fog clears, my chest is numb and my arm aches. Surgery was a success 
Drains and staples, dressings and incisions, pain and discomfort, don’t lift anything 

 Be brave, pray, keep breathing, think positive, I have lots to live for… 

The surgeon says my cancer is Stage 3 B and its triple negative…
What the hell does that mean?
We learned it means my cancer is more aggressive,
It will grow and spread faster than other types of breast cancer and has fewer treatment options 
As if having cancer and a mastectomy wasn’t bad enough 

Be brave, pray, keep breathing, think positive, I have lots to live for… 

Ok, so what do we do now…
6 cycles of combination chemotherapy over 18 weeks and a clinical trial for 12 months
Oh yes, and radiation to the arm pit to stop any local spread of cancer from those lymph nodes
I ask about reconstruction, but they say we need to get through this first 

Be brave, pray, keep breathing, think positive, I have lots to live for… 

Then my first grandbaby was born and I held her 
I think that was the moment I began shifting cancer off the centre stage of my life. 

Be brave, pray, keep breathing, think positive, I have lots to live for… 

18 months after my first surgery I was ready for reconstruction
The plan…take the other one off and rebuild both, 
Another step towards shifting cancer farther into the shadows 

Five years have come and gone, and five grandbabies fill my heart. 
Cancer dominated my life for a while, but now it’s but a silent prop in the backdrop of my life. 

Cancer will always be part of my story
An experience that divides my life into before and after
It doesn’t matter that I don’t know what comes next, I know the secret to getting through anything… 

Be brave, pray, keep breathing, think positive, and remember I have lots to live for…  

Ok, bring on Act 7
I am ready